Carlos Hazday

The boys are back in town! They arrived in Washington yesterday, ready to finish preparations for the nuptials. Today, however, they'll be celebrating the Washington Capitals winning the Stanley Cup. Hockey-crazed Patrick is dragging them to the parade running down Constitution Avenue and ending in a rally at the National Mall. His Boston Bruins may have been eliminated but the Caps are his backup team.

I hear say Turkish cakes are delicious! CJ's fixation on honesty wouldn't allow him to cheat. However, if another opportunity arose in the future similar to Amsterdam, he and Ozzie might just repeat the night's events. I sometimes marvel at how people equate acceptance with conformity. Our fight for inclusion should not mean we have to adjust and comply with mores set by heterosexuals. In the end, each one of us has to find what we're comfortable with in a relationship even if it's not what others may find acceptable.

Thanks, buddy

@tesao I wanted to revisit a scenario I wrote about in Autumn with Dagon and King as the protagonists. Too many M/M stories treat characters as if they were straight people and I keep trying to portray a more realistic view of gay life. Of gay men not ashamed of who they are and willing to explore. CJ and Owen may be about to commit to spending the remainder of their lives together but they're young. VERY young. In a way, their commitment to monogamy is rare amongst young, urban guppies. Their attitudes may be influenced by their parents but they aren't clones of those older couples. They'll try new things and hopefully learn and benefit from them. Spade and Bourdain have ignited renewed interest in mental health and the debilitating effect of depression. They may be gone but their deaths may just benefit some who may now seek help.

@tesao I introduced CJ to the effects of anti-semitism during his trip to Israel. Yad Vashem left a lasting impression I wanted to explore a bit more. The campus events exposed him to someone's visceral reaction to symbols of hatred he would not otherwise experience. With Mr. Cohen, I wanted his recalling the words of relatives to serve as a reminder we should never forget and to inspire CJ to do the same. Cisco's picture has to be at least 5 years old. I think he looks even better today even if he's not really my type

I suspect some readers may consider the cast I surrounded CJ—the protagonist in my ongoing series—unrealistic. The diverse group of supporting characters could be construed as wishful thinking at a time our country seems divided along so many lines. I beg to differ. IT IS NOT A FANTASY. A few weeks ago, I traveled to New York to celebrate my 60th birthday; I was reminded how lucky I’ve been with the people I’ve surrounded myself with. A caring, loving group of humans, the world would be better if we had more like them. Brunch at an apartment in the Upper East Side, a museum visit to see the David Bowie exhibit, cocktails at a hipster pub in Brooklyn, and ice cream at a place where the line doubled upon itself and spilled out the door. And through it all, constant conversation and laughter. One person I’ve known for forty years, their spouse around thirty. Another one I met thirty-five years ago when we joined the same board of directors; their spouse I met a decade later. One is a fan of my stories on Gay Authors—my work having fans is the weirdest feeling—and we’ve chatted for a couple of years but this was our first live interaction. The other two—a father and son duo—I met for the first time that day. The seven individuals I spent time with on that one day are proof the world I describe isn’t fantasy. We were adults and children, men and women, gays and straights, married and single, Christians and Jews, Asian, black, Hispanic, and white, USA and foreign-born. Many of them had only me in common when the day began. When we parted, contact information had been exchanged by most of them. Those few hours we shared are proof we all can get along. That the melting pot is alive and well. And that when we look past our differences, we might just discover a wonderful person who will enrich our lives. I know those surrounding me that day have made me a better man and I thank them for it.

We're gonna start with the one in the gray t-shirt in back on the left. We'll skip the cornrows for now and go right to the bald bearded one. After him, I'm not sure...

Since I've read ahead I have to be careful not to give away things about how the car really isn't reliable and blows up while--- oops, never you mind. keep reading. 😈

@Defiance19 This is from the next chapter:

You mean UP there? LOL She would roll her eyes and slap the back of my head. If you remember, I left the hunky ruggers behind in Washington. BTW, check out the picture of the Scandals and the Amsterdam Lowlanders I posted in the discussion thread. I get first pick in the draft...

My first draft was written in the middle of winter... Maybe it's where I live, where I travel, or the people I've surrounded myself with. Most of them would have never stopped and might have invited a few more hunky ruggers to join them. I had to use my imagination to limit the amount of play! The guys are still in Amsterdam right now. They return to DC tomorrow and have two weeks to finish getting ready for the wedding. This writing in the future and posting things the same weekend they take place is confusing!

Ha! I was right about Sanctuary having a special energy to it.

I get the impression there's a certain energy for lack of a better term few people would notice. Sam and Cynthia seem to feel Christian's the one and the fly boy felt it as soon as he stepped through the gates.

I like Finn. I'm getting a good vibe. And the family has good taste in china; mine's white with gold around the edge. Not sure why I keep it since last time I used it was 10 years ago before I sold the big house in Miami.

Sooo glad you kept the cliffie! Yes, I'm evil. I'm still hurting about what happened to Simon and David.

Donny seems to like making promises. To Sam years ago and now to Christian. Sounds Ike he tries to keep them too. Hints at a good, solid character.

Not sure if you know who the Property Brothers are. Reality TV. One of the twins recently married and the wedding was a TV special. Being of Scotish background, there were a lot of kilts in the wedding party. Thought of you when I saw that.

Some of you might find this interesting

Don't push it, Val. We don't want Steve to get too cocky. 😉

LMAO! My kids were just accused of cheating and it was suggested they shouldn't get married so I think that means I don't do romance.

Looks clean to me and if anyone was going to scream it would be me. Good job.

No must-haves, each story's different. However, I do tend to write about strong people. My characters don't wallow in angst or regrets; they face problems and look for solutions. Oh, and I don't do romance, just ask any of my readers! 😁

@bubby1234 It's too bad you're disappointed and it's a shame you won't be around for the wedding. I firmly stand by the storyline. We all have our own standards and must live by them. I refuse to judge others when what they are doing is consensual and does not harm anyone. For the record: There's no cheating. That's impossible when both parties agree to whatever's going on and both are present during such events.

LMAO I'm gonna need to toss in a little more sex in the future. And since you like the travels, there's one more before the end of the book.

Take your time, the story's not going anywhere. But be aware once this book's over, I'm sending over a chapter of the next one for your review and approval. The place's rented through the end of 2019 but once that date approaches, I'll include a snippet about progress with renovations in most chapters. Wanna go furniture shopping with us?